immigration news

USCIS TO IMPLEMENT REGULAR INTERVIEW REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANTS IN THE ERA OF “EXTREME VETTING”

In the latest wave of the Trump Administration’s “extreme vetting” immigration campaign, USCIS has announced that all employment-based adjustment of status applicants must now pass an in-person interview. This new policy to set to come into law October 1, although some initial reports from members of the immigration lawyer community indicate that routine employment-based adjustment applicants may already be receiving interview notices.

With average USCIS green card applications already facing a processing time of a half-year or more, such in-person interviews will increase wait-times exponentially. Previously, waivers of a general interview requirement were granted to these applicants as interviews were viewed as an unnecessary step toward residency given that consulates regularly vet candidates’ admissibility during the visa process. Although routine in family cases, employment-based cases generally only triggered an interview requirement where admissibility was an issue. However, unlike consular interviews, adjustment applicants generally have a right to have counsel present during the interview.

In an unsigned, per curiam opinion issued today, the Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear the revised Trump Travel Ban cases on their merits in the Court’s 2017-18 term which begins in early October. The Court has also partially lifted the injunction preventing the Executive Order from going into effect. Specifically, except for applicants that can establish “a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” the ban is now in effect for both new visa applicants from six Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Libya, Read more →

Immigration updates

.

After the last one one was shot down in court, President Trump has issued yet another Executive Order this week regarding immigration. Six countries are affected by the latest order, including Iran, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria. It states that individuals from these countries that do not currently have a valid visa are not eligible to travel to the U.S. for a period of 90 days.

It is important to note that the Executive Order does not apply to green card holders, dual nationals, any visas valid on or before the date of the order, diplomatic visas, and those who have been granted asylum or refugee status before the order goes into effect.

The Executive Order will go into effect on March 16, 2017 pending any further litigation.

Following the general election last month, the American Nurses Association has sent an open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump. In it, members of the nation’s most trusted profession make a plea to keep several components of the Affordable Care Act intact, including access to a standard package of essential health care services.

This standard package should include access to comprehensive services, including mental health services, ability for children to remain on their parents insurance until the age of 26, the expansion of medicaid, and protection from the denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Read more →